Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S6W-24946

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 26 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-21164 by Jenny Gilruth on 20 September 2023, when the Strategic Board for Teacher Education will report on its study into issues around the recruitment and retention of teachers.

The Strategic Board for Teacher Education has developed a workplan which contains a suite of interdependent workstreams, including workforce planning.

These workstreams contain a range of proposed actions which are in the process of being further developed and which will have individual timescales for reporting to the Board.

The Board last met on 1 February 2024 to discuss the workplan. Papers from this meeting and future meetings will be published on the Scottish Government website in due course.

Question reference: S6W-24945

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 26 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government on what date it expects the Spring 2024 meeting of the Gender Equality Taskforce in Education and Learning to take place.

Question reference: S6W-25206

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 02 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 26 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what engagement it has had with (a) NHS Lanarkshire, (b) NHS Forth Valley, (c) South Lanarkshire Council, (d) North Lanarkshire Council and (e) Falkirk Council in relation to increasing measles vaccination rates in children and young people.

Question reference: S6W-25176

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 02 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 26 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the principle of a legislative ban on the use of farrowing crates for pigs.

Question reference: S6W-25177

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 02 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 26 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to make any financial assistance available to pig farmers to help them move away from the use of farrowing crates towards cage-free methods.

Question reference: S6W-25178

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 02 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 26 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when it will deliver on its Programme for Government 2021-22 commitment to consult on proposals to phase out cages and farrowing crates.

The Scottish Government Programme for Government made the commitment to consult on phasing out the use cages for gamebirds and laying hens. This work is now progressing and the consultation on phasing out cages for laying hens and the call for evidence on gamebirds and quail are expected to go live in the early spring.

The proposed consultation on phasing out farrowing crates for pigs was originally intended to have been delivered jointly across all UK administrations. However, progress on a number of important pieces of animal welfare legislation have been significantly delayed or has ceased due to delays in UK Government timetabling, such as the Kept Animals Bill. DEFRA have confirmed that it now has no immediate plans to take forward the work on farrowing crates.

Regardless, the Scottish Government is pressing ahead on improving the welfare of all animals in Scotland, including pigs, and on 20 November 2023 published the Scottish Government Guidance for the Welfare of Pigs . We are also in the process of updating the Welfare of Farmed Animals (Scotland) Regulations 2010 to include this updated pigs’ welfare guidance.

We continue to listen and work with the industry and stakeholders on how best to achieve improvements in animal welfare as well as monitoring industry information to allow us to determine how to ensure best practice is delivered.

Question reference: S6W-25205

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 02 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 26 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6F-02778 by Humza Yousaf on 1 February 2024, when it will update the Parliament on the outcomes of the MMR check that local education boards have been asked to carry out by Public Health Scotland.

This information is not held centrally. This is a matter for Public Health Scotland (PHS), which, through the Scottish Vaccination and Immunisation Programme (SVIP), is responsible for oversight and leadership of vaccine delivery in Scotland. The Scottish Government is part of SVIP and is working closely with PHS and NHS Boards to support increased uptake of both doses of the free MMR vaccine to keep people safe from measles by preventing the spread of this very serious disease.

Question reference: S6W-25114

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 02 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 26 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Food Standards Scotland (FSS) written submission to the Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee of 20 December 2023, in relation to public petition PE1997, what the timescale is for FSS to "seek views from businesses or organisations representing businesses with experience in providing information in braille on their food and/or non-food products" to inform its thinking on mandatory braille labelling of food products.

Question reference: S6W-25121

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 26 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-20115 by Jenni Minto on 15 August 2023, whether it will provide an update on what progress has since been made to ensure that residents in (a) Dunoon and (b) surrounding communities can access local NHS dental services.

In addition to the range of incentives the Scottish Government have put in place in the Highland area to support NHS dental provision; since August 2023, NHS Highland have:

Increased capacity for patients within their evening PDS clinics through the recruitment of a new PDS Dental Officer in Dunoon.
A new practice opening later this year, secured with the use of the Scottish Dental Access Initiative scheme in Inverness.
Procured funding and resource for a mobile dental unit which is expected to be in operation by summer of 2024.

Question reference: S6W-25106

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 26 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it is taking to minimise waste across NHS Scotland, including to encourage the return of used crutches, wheelchairs and walking frames.

The NHS Scotland Climate Emergency and Sustainability Strategy 2022-2026 contains a number of actions linked to resource use, including management and reduction of waste, in line with Scottish Targets. Walking aids are included within this, and a number of Boards have trialled and put systems in place to take-back, test and re-use items subject to warranty and liability.

Scottish Government’s guidance on the provision of equipment and adaptations states “partnerships and their equipment and adaptation service providers should ensure they maximise the potential benefits from recycling of all equipment”. In line with this guidance, we are currently engaging with Health Boards to gather a national picture of what action is being taken on this matter, and to ensure the timely provision of equipment to support people to live safely within their own home and community.